In This Together TenOC
by NekoXMimi
Summary: Set a short time before End Of Time. The Doctor finds a soulmate at the worst possible time and only ends up with more pain, despite what she reveals herself to be. Doctor Who- Not mine. Emz and her species, The Frai- Mine.


**What if, between learning of his approaching death and meeting it, the Doctor took a companion out of sheer desperation? And what if she was more than even he anticipated? R&R. Spoilers later on for End Of Time. I know I have other projects I haven't finished yet but I HAD to get this down.**

"Can I get you anything?"

The man sitting at the bar started and shook his head. Despite being cute, with spiky brown hair and a cheeky, impish face he looked absolutely awful; rings under his eyes, dark as bruises, stood out against his pale skin to the point of looking unhealthy. The uncomfortable urge to reach out and touch him wrenched in my gut.

_Keep it under control, damnit. You're lucky to have this job No freaking out the punters. _I told myself. I pushed my Technicolor-dyed hair behind my ears and smiled. "Just let me know if you do, alright?"

"Yeah. Thanks." He murmured. I winced. The pain radiating from him was thick and sharp. I sensed I couldn't do anything for him without doing something stupid, so I left him to it. A couple of guys started calling me over from the other side of the bar. I rolled my eyes and sidle over. "What about you guys, can I get you something?" I asked. There was nobody in the small, dingy room but the three dirty-looking blokes and the guy in the pinstripe suit. It was near to closing time and I told my boss I'd lock up. I comforted myself with the fact I'd be slinging them out soon- the more time I spent in their presence the more uneasy I'm getting. There was something not right about their emotions but I didn't want to get too close to check it out. There was something about them that was a little eerie as they leered at me.

"Oh, yeah. We'd like you over here with a nice little side dish." One of them sneered. They all guffawed. I raised an eyebrow and bared my teeth a little.

"That's inappropriate. I'm gonna have to ask you to leave."

"You think we were joking?" One of them hissed. He got up and stalked up to the bar. That was when I saw the red flash in his eyes. A black, slimy tongue rolled itself over bared teeth that were razor-sharp. A nauseating wave of hunger and malice emanated from him. He shot out an arm to grab me but I caught his wrist. In a few deft movements I snapped his bone at the elbow.

He howled in pain and sank to the floor, but as he did so his skin rippled and his hair disappeared to be replaced with scales. A tail burst out the seat of his jeans. His mates morphed the same way and snarled at me. Keeping my fists up I backed away across the bar and dragged Pinstripe over with me, just as one of the lizard men took a swipe at him.

"Stay behind me!" I ordered him. He brought out a little blue torch and aimed it at the old Jukebox in the corner.

Despite myself I actually expected something to happen, but the little tool just made a buzzing noise. "What in god's name are you doing?" I hissed.

"I'm trying to modify the mechanism to make a very loud noise." He muttered. The Lizard Men stared at us.

"That hasn't worked in years." I said as the lizard who attacked me popped his bones back into place and snarled.

"Ah. I see. DUCK!" Pinstripe yelled, pulling me to the floor as three sticky, impossibly long black tongues shot out and lashed the air where we were moments before.

"You go fix the Juke, I'll take care of The Three Amigos." I said.

"How do you know I'll be able to fix it?" He asked, a little crease appearing in his brow. Aw. He really was rather foxy.

"Your reputation goes before you, Pinstr... Doctor." I wink and leap up, vaulting over the bar and kicking one of the lizards square in the face. My white Converse slammed into his jaw.

"Don't let their tongues touch your skin!" The Doctor yelled from his crouch by the Jukebox.

"Easy for you to say, numnut!" I shouted. Spinning round I dodged the swipe of a claw and the whip of a tongue. One of them charged the Doctor. "Not likely!" I yelled, grabbing its tail and pulling hard. It squealed as I spun it round and sent it crashing into a table. I blocked a punch from another and smashed a bar stool over its lumpy, misshapen head. It held its temples and howled while the last one's tongue shot out of its mouth. I caught it without thinking, then pulled, pulling the lizard's face towards me... and my fist. What followed a second after was the most satisfying punch EVER. The lizard's flat nose crunched against my knuckles and he tottered backwards, moaning. I didn't have much time to savour my victory as Mr Barstool grabbed me from behind and slammed me into the far wall.

And trust me, that far wall was very far indeed.

I lay there wheezing as the two lizards that were not lying on the floor crying advanced, tongues lolling out of their mouths.

"You've got this coming." One of them snarled, grabbing my neck and pinning me against the wall. He opened his mouth to its full radius, ready to take a chunk out of me.

Suddenly a noise like a thousand jackhammers drilling into concrete tore through the room. I was dropped and landed on my side, winded again. I put my hands over my ears as I watched the Lizards fall to the floor, twitching and moaning. They managed to drag themselves to their feet and hurl themselves from the room, and were gone.

The noise cut off and the Doctor's black Converses appeared in front of my eyes. A slender hand gripped my arm and he hauled me up, grinning. Then he took his hand away from mine and stared at it.

"What's up?" I asked. It was weird- my words seemed to be echoing around my own head. It felt nice. He showed me his palm- it was stained with a sticky black liquid. He grabbed my wrist and held it up to the light.

A wound, like a burn, flared across my palm. It was angry red and covered in the black substance. I squeezed it and it wept clear fluid and pus. "Hahahaha!" I threw back my head and roared with laughter. "it's fuuuuuuuun. Look, it makes a squishy noise when you poooooke iiiiit!" I giggled, prodding the wound. I couldn't feel anything at all, my head felt light and the colours of my surroundings seemed to blend together.

"O-kay. We'd best get you to the TARDIS."

"I don't waaaaana." I sang as he put a restraining arm around me and lead me away. He scribbled a note on a peice of paper and stuck it to the door. "Whaaasssat?" I asked.

"Just to let your boss know you're in the hands of doctors." He smiled at me. "How do you feel?" I stared at him, at his beautiful face. We stepped out onto the pavement, into the night.

"I feeeeeel greeeeaaaat!" I exclaimed.

"Ok. That's not good."

"S'not?"

"No. It means the poison is working through your body and you will soon be paralyzed."

"Oh. !"

"Let's go." He said firmly. "What's your name, by the way?"

"Your Worst NIIIIIGHTMARE! Nah. Not really. It's Emz. Emzzz. Haha. It sounds like a bee. .…" Suddenly everything went black and I faceplanted the pavement.


End file.
